1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to automatic swinging doors and, more particularly, to a system and method for controlling the opening and closing of automatic swinging doors.
2. Description of Related Art
Systems and methods are well-known in the art for controlling the opening and closing the automatic swinging doors to permit pedestrians to enter and exit buildings, facilities, hallways, and the like without having to open and close the doors manually. Automatic swinging doors controlled in accordance with such systems and methods are commonly found in retail stores, supermarkets, and the like.
Examples of automatic swinging door control systems are found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,851,746 to Milke; U.S. Pat. No. 5,583,405 to Sai et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,812,837 to Ikeuchi; and in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0104266 to Ranaudo.
Notwithstanding the sophistication of the prior art automatic swinging door opening systems and methods, there is an ongoing need to improve the operation of automatic swinging door opening systems and methods to avoid contact between a moving automatic swinging door and a pedestrian in the swing path of such door.